Three weeks after winning RE’s annual business plan challenge, Diya Tekriwal ’22 and Dhilani Premaratne ’22 competed against 10 South Florida independent schools at the Innovate South Florida 2021 business competition on April 14.
Once again, the pair earned first-place honors for their plan for HobbyBox, a monthly subscription box that would bring new hobbies to a customer's doorstep.
Tekyriwal and Premaratne prevailed in the final round of the virtual competition, impressing the judging panel with their preparation and comprehensive plan. A team from American Heritage in Delray Beach that pitched a subscription date night box, Date Night Done, finished second. Teams from Gulliver Prep and Palmer Trinity also advanced to the final round.
The pair – economics students of Humanities Department Chair Jen Nero – presented from a classroom at the school, explaining that they would make deals with various businesses that sold hobby-type items – such as calligraphy starter sets – at wholesale pricing in exchange for distribution in their monthly hobby boxes. They outlined their plans to create special boxes for various audiences: HobbyBoxes for seniors, women, etc.
They also discussed projected audiences, start-up costs, long-term projections, and primary competitors. The competition was sponsored by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). Teams from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, American Heritage Plantation, Christopher Columbus High, Miami Country Day, St. Andrews School, Hebrew Academy and Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart participated.
Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.